Beijing drop in population first time in 17 years

BEIJING, Jan 22 (APP):Chinese Capital Beijing’s population shrank in 2017- the first time in 17 years – as the result of nonessential functions being relocated outside the city and better urban management, authorities said.
The capital had 21.7 million permanent residents by the end of last year, 22,000 less than in 2016, a 0.1 percent fall year-on-year, according to the Beijing Bureau of Statistics.
The growth rate of Beijing’s population has been falling since 2011. Pang Jiangqian, spokeswoman for the bureau, said the negative growth in 2017 is in accordance with the city’s development.
As the development gap between rural and urban areas has been narrowing during the continuous urbanization, some provinces and cities have seen people returning from big cities.